The award, presented by Today's Caregiver magazine, honors products, services and media created with the needs of caregivers in mind.

[New York, NY]
Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE), the country's oldest and largest organization dedicated to improving the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) older adults, today announced it has received a 2011 Caregiver Friendly Award for SAGECAP (SAGE Caring and Preparing), an innovative program that supports caregivers in New York City through local services, and nationwide through educational online resources. The award will be presented on July 14, 2011 in Boca Raton, Florida by Today's Caregiver magazine, the first national magazine for all family and professional caregivers.

"On behalf of the Board of Directors and staff at SAGE, I would like to thank Today's Caregiver for the 2011 Caregiver Friendly® Award," said Michael Adams, Executive Director of SAGE. "SAGECAP was created in response to the growing needs of LGBT older people and Baby Boomers, who often become caregivers for their partners, friends and families of choice. This award recognizes the importance of bringing visibility to the specific issues facing our aging communities."

Approximately 80 percent of long-term care in the United States is provided by family members. However, LGBT older adults are often estranged from their families of origin, and so lack this crucial support network. Compared to their heterosexual peers, LGBT older adults are twice as likely to be single and to live alone, and three to four times as likely to be childless. They are also more likely to care for a loved one: 1 in 4 LGBT adults becomes a caregiver, compared to 1 in 5 heterosexual adults.

SAGECAP, launched in 2009 and supported by the Harry and Jeannette Weinberg Foundation, was designed to provide LGBT older adults and those who care for them a safe, welcoming community where they can navigate their current and future needs: as they provide care for a loved one, SAGECAP cares for them, and in turn helps them prepare for the time in their life when they may need care. SAGECAP offers one-on-one and group counseling, weekly caregiver support groups, seminars, respite care and more. In addition, SAGECAP provides online articles and multimedia resources on caregiving issues for LGBT older adults and their loved ones through the National Resource Center on LGBT Aging (lgbtagingcenter.org).

"The average caregiver is responsible for over $40,000 in health related expenditures each year, in either personal or directed funds," says Gary Barg, Today's Caregiver Editor-in-Chief. "This award is designed to help family caregivers recognize and reward those organizations who will care for them in as committed a manner as they care for their loved ones."

"SAGE is honored to receive a Caregiver Friendly® Award," said SAGECAP Program Manager Scott French. "It signals the growing recognition by aging service providers of the specific needs that LGBT older adults face when seeking culturally competent caregiving services for themselves and their loved ones."

The Caregiver Friendly Awards celebrates caregiving literature, multimedia, products and services created to meet the needs of today's caregivers. SAGE received the Caregiver Friendly Award in the Service category, and shares the award with United HomeCare for their Caregiver Resource Center. To see the full list of 2011 award recipients online, visit www.caregiver.com/caregiverfriendly/2011/2011_winners.htm.

This will be second time SAGE has been honored for its groundbreaking SAGECAP program. In September 2010 SAGE received the GLAAD Media Award in Advertising in the Outstanding Social Marketing Category for its seven-week New York City-wide advertising campaign that reached 33 million New Yorkers.

SAGE (Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders) is the country's largest and oldest organization dedicated to improving the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) older adults. Founded in 1978 and headquartered in New York City, SAGE is a national organization that offers supportive services and consumer resources to LGBT older adults and their caregivers, advocates for public policy changes that address the needs of LGBT older people, and provides training for aging providers and LGBT organizations through its National Resource Center on LGBT Aging. With offices in New York City, Washington, DC and Chicago, SAGE coordinates a growing network of 27 local SAGE affiliates in 20 states and the District of Columbia. Learn more at sageusa.org and lgbtagingcenter.org.

About The Caregiver Friendly® Awards
Caregiver Friendly® Awards are presented by Today's Caregiver magazine to celebrate outstanding books, media, products and services designed with the best interest of the family caregiver in mind. Today's Caregiver magazine, launched in 1995, is published by Caregiver Media Group, which also produces the Fearless Caregiver Conferences, www.caregiver.com and The Fearless Caregiver book which teaches caregivers how to become their loved one's fearless advocates within the healthcare system.